The Publish’s Joseph Staszewski brings you around the globe {of professional} wrestling each Tuesday in his weekly column, the Publish Match Angle.
End the story.
That’s what WWE must do at WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium on Sunday evening by having Cody Rhodes finish Roman Reigns; 940-plus day reign as world champion and pin his shoulders to the mat for the primary time since December 2019.
Certain, you’ll be able to have Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn come out to assist Rhodes when The Bloodline will get concerned, or have Jey Uso activate Reigns, or make a mistake that prices his cousin being the Undisputed WWE Common champion.
However let’s not attempt to get cute right here, Triple H.
If WWE have been actually hell bent on getting Reigns to 1,000 days as champ then it shouldn’t have had Rhodes win the Royal Rumble and simply had Zayn face the champ at WrestleMania, have Rhodes lose to him at SummerSlam and have the previous AEW star win subsequent yr’s Rumble to lastly beat Reigns or the champion at the moment.
Making an attempt to get cute with it now and prolong the Rhodes-Reigns feud to this yr’s SummerSlam with the belt nonetheless on the Tribal Chief doesn’t do a lot good.
Wish to go to Wrestlemania? Seize last-minute tickets right here.
Sure, it’ll add a little bit of adversity for Rhodes to beat however it’ll make followers query much more why Reigns’ match with Zayn was executed at Elimination Chamber and never right here.
It would make them query why Rhodes ended Solo Sikoa’s undefeated streak on the principle roster on “Monday Evening Uncooked” this week.
It dangers the Rhodes-Reigns story doubtlessly getting stale as a result of the American Nightmare’s quest is simply too easy to be attacked from too many new angles.
Can “end the story” work for 4 extra months?
Sure, you’ll be able to say he wasn’t fairly able to step as much as somebody the caliber of Reigns at a WrestleMania and that he has to dig even deeper inside to get there, however is that price one other 4 months of construct?
Rhodes’ aim is to earn the world championship his household has by no means received and show that he, and never Reigns, is really the inheritor to every part the “American Dream” left behind in professional wrestling.
A loss at WrestleMania will go away doubts about that and finish Rhodes being undefeated in WWE – which leaves one thing for the individual to finally beat him to finish.
The very last thing WWE desires is doubt leaving WrestleMania.
You need to stamp Rhodes as the brand new face of the corporate and provides WWE possibly it’s most marketable babyface champion since John Cena as his merchandise gross sales reportedly proceed to development at fundamental occasion stage.
I don’t see anybody else within the firm proper now or between now and SummerSlam who can really present that.
You need it to be clear that that is the man and we’re shifting to a brand new section in The Bloodline story to start the subsequent WWE yr.
Heck, having Rhodes win could make it very easy to separate the titles for the reason that solely belt that basically issues to him is the WWE championship.
He’s mentioned a couple of occasions the Undisputed WWE champion is a little bit of a mouthful. So have the babyface retire the Common championship and convey again the Massive Gold Belt that his dad received again in 1986.
In an ideal world, the 2 males’s fundamental occasion matches at SummerSlam are Roman Reigns in opposition to a Jey Uso who’s had sufficient or Jey and Jimmy vs. Roman and Solo in a cut up Bloodline.
After which Rhodes vs. a wholesome and motivated Randy Orton.
We shouldn’t see Reigns-Rhodes once more till WrestleMania subsequent yr if The Rock isn’t lastly obtainable. Let that sit and marinate.
So end the story WWE, each with Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. It’s the easiest way and the best manner. Get it executed.
Elite Storytelling
Now that’s extra prefer it
What transpired from begin to end within the Hangman-Elite storyline this week on Dynamite is precisely the kind of layered and open-ended storytelling AEW has wanted. The Younger Bucks being attacked to open the present – and we nonetheless don’t know for sure by who – and Don Callis pulling a conflicted Kenny Omega away whereas “Hangman” Adam Web page went along with his pal arrange the remainder of the evening.
To shut the present, Omega and AAA Mega champion El Hijo del Vikingo placed on about as enjoyable a tv match as you will notice in what was a highlight-filled coming-out celebration for the proficient 25-year-old luchador.
However it’s what occurred after all of the insane spots and Omega successful with a One Winged Angel that did it for me.
Omega was attacked by the Blackpool Fight Membership and Hangman, who returned like a serious babyface hero after driving again within the ambulance, got here out to defend him to an enormous pop.
Then Callis faked having been clocked by Hangman as to maintain Omega from desirous to get off the fence in regards to the cowboy rejoining The Elite.
Callis, who performed a hand in The Bucks going heel with Omega a couple of years in the past, now appears hell bent on holding the Finest Bout Machine below his thumb, targeted on singles gold once more and never trio or tags along with his buddies. All of that is taking place whereas Callis has been attempting to recruit Konosuke Takeshita together with free brokers Jay White and Kota Ibushi. What’s his sport right here? How will he be punished when Omega finds him out and does Callis retaliate not directly? The extra questions the higher.
The Mum or dad Entice
It’s possible you’ll not get a extra excellent WrestleMania construct than what Dominik and Rey Mysterio simply pulled off courting again seven-plus months.
From the gradual burn of their cut up, placing them on totally different manufacturers, the holiday-crashing vignettes to weeks of Dominik attempting push and insult his dad right into a match at SoFi Stadium.
And what in fact lastly pushed Rey over the sting to lastly strike Dominik, which was his son disrespecting his mom on SmackDown this week.
It’s the one factor no dad would ever tolerate and the pop was deservedly huge. Rey’s precise phrases have been: “You don’t disrespect your mom like that!” Good.
The ten Depend
I’m unsure having Austin Idea ship a promo on John Cena in an empty area actually was the very best concept from WWE — particularly after his idol dissed him for having faux crowd noise pumped in as a result of nobody cares about him. It gave off pandemic wrestling vibes, which you by no means need, and Idea actually ought to have needed to face the group’s response. Possibly it’s alleged to be an indication he’s not prepared, as Cena mentioned.
Hoped for extra of a shock, however Daniel Garcia is a positive first opponent again for Adam Cole this week. The 2 minimize a stable promo, however I’m unsure I want Cole attempting to make Garcia doubt being a “sport entertainer.” We’ve got seen that earlier than. With the reactions Cole is getting and the publicity he’ll get from “All Entry,” how lengthy till he and MJF cross paths?
There are lots of issues in NXT that also come off fairly corny, together with the Schism vs. Chase U debate stuff (additionally the tag title match being revamped drinks and pool on the bar). That being mentioned, it stays one among Stand and Ship’s most fascinating matches with The Rock’s daughter Ava Raine making her in-ring debut, Duke Hudson’s allegiance in query and Chase U up for grabs.
I believed the Brock Lesnar-Omos weigh-in was a good suggestion since you need to make it clear for the viewers simply how heavy the person The Beast will likely be lifting at WreslteMania is. However Lesnar ought to have hit the scales, too.
Thought Bayley, Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins all delivered wonderful go-home promos for WrestleMania.
Exit of your technique to watch Alex Hammerstone retaining his MLW world championship in a rematch in opposition to Jacob Fatu on “MLW Underground.” The athleticism displayed by the 2 heavyweights is off the charts. They inform a superb story. Raven’s new group attacking Hammerstone after is the contemporary story the champ wants.
I used to be an enormous fan of “The Outcasts” storyline for the ladies and I do know you want time to construct up a gaggle to go in opposition to them with Sky Blue, Willow Nightingale and Riho coming into the image. Nevertheless, the components to get there appears similar to what we have now seen previously from the AEW girls’s division. Let’s go deeper then the floor stuff quickly, please.
Right here’s what must occur with free agent Invoice Goldberg. If he desires to return to WWE, then it ought to be for a program, possibly a retirement one, with Bron Breakker – with whom he’s shut.
If AEW is by some means about to safe his companies, then have him mentor Wardlow in a Sting-like position and possibly even lastly have his match with Chris Jericho in spite of everything these years. Goldberg didn’t get his shoulder proper to not have yet one more match is my intestine feeling.
I’m not going to learn an excessive amount of into all of the CM Punk Instagram drama final Thursday, as a result of there is just one of two outcomes right here. He’s by no means working in AEW once more and sure sealed that, or he’s creating some buzz for his eventual return and we’re going to get a really unplugged CM Punk.
Jon Moxley’s biting remark’s Monday morning on “The Periods” make me factor Punk is not going to be again. For Mox to say he has by no means seen “a lot bulls–t drama in a single place” definitely doesn’t replicate nicely on AEW. Additionally, if Punk doesn’t return and he has time on his palms … somebody sit the person down for a Rocky marathon!
My coronary heart feels for Josh Alexander, who has to relinquish the Influence world championship after tearing his triceps and needing surgical procedure. Alexander was in the midst of such an excellent run of matches as champion throughout a possibility he lengthy waited for and deserved. Get nicely quickly.
It’s arduous to resolve if I like Kofi-mana or Wrestle-Zaynia higher, however man, Sami Zayn has had an excellent run of T-shirts these days.
Match to Watch
Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, Undisputed WWE Common championship at WrestleMania (April 2, 8 p.m., Peacock)
Three years of The Bloodline story, a yr again in WWE for Cody Rhodes and a decades-long story for his household come all the way down to this. Rhodes is trying to end the story of lastly bringing a WWE world championship dwelling to his well-known clan and being anointed the brand new frontman for the corporate. Reigns is trying to proceed a run of a lifetime, a 940-plus day title reign and show the son Dusty Rhodes “all the time needed” is healthier than his precise son.
Honorable Point out: Bron Breakker (c.) vs. Carmelo Hayes (NXT championship) and Claudio Castagnoli (c.) vs. Eddie Kingston (Ring of Honor championship)
Wrestler of the Week
El Hijo Del Vikingo, All Elite Wrestling/AAA Lucha Libre
The 25-year-old luchador received a possibility many younger wrestlers dream of and knocked it out of the park, wrestling Kenny Omega in the principle occasion of Dynamite final week. It was a popping out celebration for the AAA Mega champion in the US and he and Omega left them wanting extra after seeing him hit his 630 Senton splash by way of the desk to Omega on the skin.
Across the Ring
- Vince McMahon paid again the $17.4 million towards the WWE board of administrators investigation into sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to him and John Laurinaitis.
- Former NHL participant Darren McCarthy will crew with Tommy Dreamer and Yuya Uemura in opposition to Bully Ray and the Good Arms on the April 6 Influence on AXS.
- El Hijo Del Vikingo will likely be at Home of Glory’s present on the NYC Enviornment in Jamaica on Friday, June 16.
- Akira Tozawa introduced the start of his daughter Ten.
- Mercedes Mone’ will defend her IWGP girls’s championship in opposition to AZM and Hazuki at Sakura Genesis on April 8.
- Stacy Keibler will likely be inducted into the WWE Corridor of Fame
